Sheet feeder



April 28, 1953 D. E. LOEBER 2,636,734

SHEET FEEDER Filed Sept. 5, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR .Loeber I 1 ATTORNE$\ Apnl 28, 1953 D. E. LOE-BER 2,536,734

SHEET FEEDER Filed Sept. 5, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 4 INVENTOR Don Loeber ATTORNEE Patented Apr. 28, 1953 DQnLE. hue encl er, N- u i nnrktovflemington 'ltandl'lne, New York, .N. .Y,, :a. .enrpomtion ofDelaware Application fsentemher 5, ma, Serial No. truism eomms. (01.2??36) EEhe present invention rrelates ito improvements in sheet ifeeiders, partioulanl y those adapted tier ifeefling relatively ismelltsheets rand cards. I HJ-he invention provides e :sheet {feeder adapted it!) mpidiyjfeed the'iiiecnete tshe ets one "at Fa time ranged v-in superimposed iedg-ew-ise relation on e isuitahlesupport.

'ZDhe :inverrtionprovides e, feeder-Shaving ra -rotatfeed well adapted to engage en aend sheet of a seriesiof superimposed sheetssmountedin edgewi-se relation on ieupporting wand stripper pla'tes wherein the .strigper plate cooperates with the" feed. roll to prevent the fezedine-oft-more the-prone ;sheet at e time through its s amed position with respect to @the periphery of the eed. atoll end its iresil-ienoy. vi'ieerier "provides taas'irr plegyet eiii $618111; and relatiuelyiiuexpensiue eomtruotionrthat can be operated :to successively :ieed discrete sheetstrapidlyf-from a, eteokiof .sheets supported by the teeder. A suitabiefsheet euitierrnember jfiegprm;

wiiied for cooperation the feedmoltend stripper-plate .ior engaging the opposite edges of end is-heets engaged. on the ,etrigper plate :for cooperation with the-stripper plate in 'i-hold-ing the end 2511361: :in position i130 have the .surieoe ieloi g Monte margin engage the ,fieed ,roll end fortcooperation with the istripgier plate .in .holding and Eguiding sheets next .to ithewend sheet :so as itoeecure the 'feeding of only one sheet tart 1a time inrz pid @5119 session. V

'IIIhe invention provides .a :shet iieeder that is :edep'ted .to take uvtaxiousqsizes of .sheets .andioards,

fsuch as used ipriniiexing and recording date, and

teed-them successive order rapidly. 'lTheIeerier :is of a, (relatively 1511111516 constructiondnexpeniize to menuiaoture eae'yyzat fa ttaoh to other types of machines that are adapted. to iie'ceive "theistic -oessiuely fed Sheets "fior "subseguent nwation thereon, :such .as a, document photographing fineohine "for photographing copies or records 1011 the eheets, Jami afeeder that islinexpensiveto"operate;

has relatively'iew :moving parts requiring less maintenance and relatively :few adjustments to secureeffioient'opereition,

inithe' drewings-z ":Eig. =1 is a Slide elevation with -por'ti'o1is rbnoken "away-anti shown "in "cross section illustrating fie"- tails :of reonstrudtion of e "feetier built eecoriimg :to the invention endeppliedito a; i dooumeii t photographing =meuchin'e 'aconver'i'tionelw' fliuetreited xi'ot emiadaeh lines.

i2 is e. ertical oross feeder Showmfgka series of eheets in mosition and diagrammatically iiiine'tmtineihow iith'e feeder weiksxssetimr through 7 the t 1m iiine 3-:;3 of Fig; 1 illustrating the :rrniiuntingfforrthe;feedroller shaft;

ling orjoiflier typea'oft'machine or supportt-on'which it is to beused; Feed qa'late :3 "is engaged :over the upper end. :ofxsupporting plate {I and arranged in zimiiined relation, as :showniin Figs. J. and 2, with the "upper end oipiete II enga'gingthe central un- :iieriao'e offeedvplecte *Feed plate 3 "hasflepeni sing "side walls :4 along zopposite side edges eecurefl totheusitle edges offaeupporting plate T] in aeuitab'le rmamner. tside'weiis :4- provideimeans tier Irigidiy attaching endeupporting .fee'ci plate I :in themolined position and at rthexforward or ifeeci end of dihefeeder they rare formed with hearing projections extending in :afivance aogf thejower edge of :feedizplete 1.3. Bearing project-wrist have hearing iCOu'fiI'S 6, :Fig. one non eeoh projection. for wneoeivingqe hail bearing r! :in {881011 collar which receives end rotate-My L rounts opposite 'eniisziof ifieed shaft '8 in advance of end intsuhstantielly ire-die)! relation to plate in a manner mated in Figs. sand :12 Puller; 1 is rigidl seculre'fl to the ri htihand:endaoffieedehaitfi as howin in Fig. 3 to receive :endiess zhel t til: engaged over @111 iey 14H rofzsmailer :ciiamete rigidly connected-with lar er diameter puiley i. otetekiiy. :mountetiion 'e-trib e-heit ll 3 iflaimifld 'zby ediusteble hraoket :i 4.

- table Y'bXSJEBEEt i!" tistmounted on the right of Ta fault-able eetvsorew F time. cooperatingwitheslot rim ibracket +11 fort'ad iustalm y mounting "stub :shaft l 3 in position to secure the desired tension onith'e belts ifor \dritrimg teed iE'lEYEI-fi.3. An electric motor J fi mounted con supporting plat :1 provides a source ref-power for i'Ct .zving teed :roil I8 and afieeding ztheeheets *inmzsooessime order. Motor 15 mesa-drive puiiet ah! on the enfliei the drive eha iit theneoifiprevideci with em lbelt is engaged "overmuileys :12 (and iii. pirovision of the two belts rrend'rnuiieys H iantl i-2 amounted bracket Iii premicie 1a eomzenientpspeeci reduction drive"*be-- tween motor; and Eieeti. shaft :8 so that eheft'ifl is operated atithe :desired. ASIJEGC. while hmcket- M may be adjusted to secure the desired tension on the belts.

A feed roll I9 of rubber or other suitable material having a friction surface is mounted in the central portion of shaft 8 in the manner shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Feed roll I9 is cylindrical in shape and has its periphery spaced from the lower leading edge of feed plate 3 as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. A stripper plate 20 is mounted on the upper inclined face of feed plate 3 for limited adjustment by means of set screws 2 I. Set screws H are threadedly mounted in feed plate 3 while stripper plate 29 has a pair of apertures through which set screws 2| extend that are larger than the shanks of the set screws passing therethrough, as shown in Fig. 6. This provides for a limited adjustment of stripper plate 20 sothat the lower leading edge may be adjusted into a spaced parallel position to the periphery of feed roll l9 to leave the desired space required for the passage of a sheet that is engaged and fed by feed.- roll [9 while the end of the stripper plate prevents two sheets from being fed simultaneously. a

- A pair of sheet guide strips 22 havespring clips '23 on one end frictionally engaged over the upper edge of feed plate 3 in the manner shown v in Figs. 1 and 4 for securing guide strips 22 for adjustment toward and from each other between the sides of feed plate 3 for guiding sheets supported on the feed and stripper plates to slide down inclined feed and stripper plates 3 and 20 respectively, toward the periphery of feed roll I9. Strips 22 are normally positioned in' adjacent but spaced relation to the sheets to be fed. The lower end of stripper plate 20 extends beyond the lower leading edge of feed plate 3 in the manner shown in Fig. 2, for example, so that by using resilient material for stripper plate 20, the free end will flex relative to feed plate 3 and cooperate with feed roll IS in the feeding of sheets one at a time in successive order.

In feeding sheets and cards withthe present feeder, they are arranged in edgewise relation for support on feed and stripper plates 3 and 20 respectively, in the manner shown in Fig. 2 in which the lower edges of the sheets indicated at 24,wil1 slide downwardly along stripper plate 20 toward feed roll I9 by reason of the action of gravity and the inclination of feed and stripper plates 3 and 20. A follower 25 may provide suitable weight to slide downwardly on feed and stripper plates 3 and 20 respectively for urging the sheets downwardly toward the periphery of feed roll I9. The cards or sheets are supported in an inclined relation with respect to the feed and stripper plates in which they are arranged at a relatively small acute angle to a plane perpendicular to the feed and stripper plates in the manner shown in Fig. 2. This secures a slight offsetting of the upper and lower edges of the sheets relative to each other in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2 which facilitates the guiding and feeding of the sheets.

A sheet guide is generally indicated by numeral 26 for holding and guiding the sheets in the inclined position above described. This sheet guide comprises bracket 27 mounted on the machine carrying the feeder in fixed relation with respect to supporting plate I, feed roll I9 and stripper plate 20. A rail 28 is rigidly secured to bracket 2'! and has shoe 29 slidably mounted thereon. Shoe 29 has central strip portion 39 slidably engaging the face of rail 28. Return bent ends 3|, on opposite sides of strip portion 30, embrace opposite edges of rai1 28 for slidably and frictionally retaining shoe 29 in an adjusted position thereon.

A lateral projection 32 having a curved free end 33 provides the sheet engaging portion on the shoe for engaging the end sheet and those adjacent thereto at the edges opposite those engaged with stripper plate 20 for supporting and holding the sheets to be fed in the desired inclined offset position on the feed and stripper plates, as shown in Fig. 2. In addition, this shoe has curved end 33 arranged to cooperate with the resilient end of stripper plate 20 in such a way that it aids in separating an end sheet from the adjacent sheet as it engages feed roll I9 so as to prevent the feeding of more than one sheet at a time. Shoe 29 may be adjusted into any desired position on rail 28, as suggested by the dot and dash line illustration in Fig. 2, showing other positions of adjustment for the shoe on the rail from the full line position. This adjustment'of shoe 29 provides for holding andfeeding sheets of various sizes and the adjustment of the shoe on rail 28 into the desired position for each size of sheet to be fed secures an efficient feeding operation in cooperation withfeed roll I9 and stripper plate 20.

A'curved delivery plate 34 has one marginse cured to the lower under side of feed plate 3 as shown in Fig. 2. The central portion of delivery plate 34 is curved into concentric spaced relation about feed roll I9 while the opposite free margin guides a fed sheet outwardly away from the feeder into the machine on which the feeder is mounted in the desired direction. v

In operation feed roll I9 is rotated at a constant speed through the operation of motor l6. Cards or sheets to be fed are placed in position on the upper surface of the feed and stripper plates, as shown in Fig. 2, with shoe 29 adjusted to engage the upper edges of the sheets, as illus' trated. The sheets tend to slide down stripper plate 20 so that the lower marginal portion of the end-sheet of a group mounted on edge on stripper plate 20 will 'move into engagement with the periphery of feed roll I9. The friction surfacev'vill immediately tend to feed the end sheet downwardly as shown in Fig. 2 past the end of stripper plate 20 in view of the clockwise rotation of feed roll I9 as shown in Fig. 2 in the normal operation of the feeder. V Stripper plate 20 is adjusted to have its edge adjacent to the periphery of feed roll l9 spaced fromffeed roll I9 a distance approximately equal to the, thickness of the sheet or card to be fed and not as great as the thickness of two such card'sffor sheets. With the coaction of guide shoe 29 and the resiliency of the free end of stripper plate 20 feed roll I9 will move the lower margin of a sheet by frictional engagement therewith past the free end of stripper-plate 20 to engage curvegt'deliveryjplate 34 for delivery of the end sheet outwardly, from the, feeder. The free resilient end of stripper plate 2.9 will cooperate in the feeding operation with the periphery of feed roll I9 to strip the sheet next to the end sheet from the endsheet being fed and prevent two sheets from being fed simultaneously in overlapping relation. The resiliency and slight flexibility-,fof stripper plate 20 ,in cooperation with theconstruction of guide shoe 29 and the incIinedLposition of the sheets tends to secure a separation of an-end sheet from the adjacent sheet/so that it can be readily and rapidly fed by feed roll' [9 down and about curved delivery plate 34 in a manner that will be clear from Fig. 2. This feeder is adapted to feed index cards, record sheets and tabulating machine cards into a photographic recording machine in successive order at a speed approximating 590 or more per minute.

It will be obvious that the feeder is of simple construction with few moving parts thereby providing a feeder that is economical to manufacture. Guide strips 22 are adjustable to positions preferably in spaced relation to the ends of the cards or sheets supported on the feed and stripper plates but in case such cards being fed should happen to slide out of alignment they will be guided by guide strips 22 toward the feed roll. It is obvious that suitable means may be provided for directly securing bracket 21 of the sheet guide to sides 4 of the feeder, if desired, so as to directly attach the sheet guide to the remainder of the feeder construction to form a single unit.

The invention claimed is:

1. A sheet feeder comprising a feed plate inclined downwardly toward the leading edge, a feed roll mounted for rotation with its axis in spaced relation to the leading edge of and in substantially the same plane as said feed plate with the periphery parallel to and adjacent said leading edge, a stripper plate on said feed plate having a resilient end projecting beyond the leading edge of said feed plate in substantially radial relation to said feed roll, means for adjustably securing said stripper plate on said feed plate with said resilient end spaced from the periphery of said feed roll an amount substantially equal to the thickness of a sheet to be fed and less than the thickness of two such sheets, and a guide having an inclined sheet engaging face mounted in spaced relation to and above said feed roll and stripper plate in a position to engage the edges of sheets nearest said feed roll and opposite to the edges of said sheets engaging said stripper plate to support said sheets on edge on and in cooperation with said feed and stripper plates slightly inclined to a plane perpendicular tosaid feed plate over said feed roll to present the margin of an end sheet engaged with the end of said stripper plate to the periphery of said feed roll, and said sheets being normally urged toward said feed roll by said guide and said resilient end of the strip-per plate flexing with the feeding of the end sheet from its inclined position, whereby the adjacent end sheets in their slightly inclined position are unequally moved to separate the sheets, the one from the others, preparatory to feeding thereof in succession.

2. A sheet feeder comprising a feed plate inclined downwardly toward the discharge end and having laterally depending sides formed at the lower end of said feed plate into bearing projections extending beyond the lower end of said plate, an upright supporting plate engaged under mounted on said feed shaft with the periphery spaced from the lower edge of said feed plate, a stripper late adjustably mounted on said feed plate in substantially radial relation to said feed roll for movement of an edge into close spaced parallel proximity to the periphery of said feed roll with a margin at said edge extending beyond the lower edge of said feed plate, said margin of said stripper plate being resilient for lateral flexing in cooperation with said feed. roll during sheet feeding operation for retaining sheets to be fed from said feed and stripper plates in edgewise relation thereon while said feed roll engages and feeds an end sheet past said stripper plate, the flexing of said stripper plate by the feeding end sheet effecting a pre-fed separation of the adjacent succeeding sheets, a curved delivery plate on the lower end of said feed plate extendin in spaced concentric relation about the periphery of said feed roller for directing sheets fed by said feed roll outwardly from the lower end of said feeder, a motor mounted on said supporting plate, drive connections between said motor and feed shaft for rotating said feed roll in operation of said motor, and a guide for engaging the edges of sheets opposite those engaged on said stripper late and cooperating with said stripper plate to hold and guide sheets on said stripper plate into position to have an end sheet engaged and fed by said feed roll.

3. A sheet feeder comprising a feed plate inclined downwardly toward the discharged end, a stripper plate adjustably mounted thereon and having a flexible margin projecting beyond the lower end of said feed plate for supporting sheets to be fed for sliding movement on edge toward the lower end thereof, a feed roll rotatably mounted in radial relation to said stripper plate with the periphery spaced from the resilient end of said stripper plate a distance equal substantially to the thickness of a sheet to be fed, and a guide havin a rail extending in outwardly extending relation to said feed roll and a shoe adjustable on said guide formed with an angularly extending end for engaging the edges of end sheets opposite the edges engaging said stripper plate and cooperating to press the end sheets extending over said feed roll against the fielding action of the flexible margin of said stripper plate, into position for the extreme end sheet to be engaged and fed by said feed roll off the end of said stripper plate, while the adjacent end sheets are retained by said stripper plate.

DON E. LOEBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 761,970 Kimball June 7, 1904 876,914 Rogers Jan. 14, 1908 1,027,613 Kimball May 28, 1912 1,741,451 Davidson Dec. 31, 1929 1,991,989 Trompier Feb 19, 1935 2,080,968 Krell May 18, 1937 2,163,145 Johnson June 20, 1939 2,351,854 Hall June 20, 1944 

